


one equal temper of heroic hearts

by thelittlefanpire



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bellamy Badass Blake, Curses, Drama, F/M, Halloween, Halloween gone wrong, Hocus Pocus (1993) References, Magic, Reapers, Supernatural/Fantasy, Warrior Princess, Witches, fun for the whole family, hocus pocus au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-11 00:38:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16465373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelittlefanpire/pseuds/thelittlefanpire
Summary: Bellamy Blake was born on Halloween night. The same night the Reaper Sisters cursed the town of Arkadia.When an immortality spell goes terribly wrong, everyone is cursed to be their Halloween costume from sunset to sunrise every Hallows Eve.Expect for Bellamy Blake.Bellamy has lived in fear as he watches helplessly as vampires, ghosts, and all kinds of horrors walk the streets.When Clarke Griffin moves to town, Bellamy befriends her and they accidentally reawaken the Reaper Sisters, who are ready to complete their spell.Bellamy will need the help of a new Reaper Sister, a Warrior Princess, and a talking cat to break the curse.A Bellarke Hocus Pocus AU





	one equal temper of heroic hearts

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! happy halloween 2k18!

Bellamy Blake’s dreams always start with a scream. It’s the first thing he notices. The screaming which is accompanied by the darkness. Before he can grasp on to anything else, reality comes rushing into focus.

In his dream, a couple is huddled on the floor of a dusty cabin in the dark. The wind howls and the rain beats down shaking the frames of the windows. Tree branches sway violently in the wind and if Bellamy looks closely he can make out the outline of the Mount Weather Mountains in the distance. The man’s face is covered in shadows but he can hear the woman’s voice clearly now. Her screams echo in the night. The man’s soft voice whispers encouragingly, trying to soothe his wife’s screaming, but sharp laughter from passersby outside causes him to jerk his head up to the door, in alarm.

“It’s just trick-or-treaters running home, Rory. Our son is going to be born on Halloween.” The man tells the mother-to-be and stands up to find a blanket for his wife. Bellamy notices the swell of her stomach and how her hands clutch it tightly. Her face is beaded in sweat and contorts in pain.

Bellamy can feel the chill in the air too, but he can’t move.

On his search for blankets, the man finds the black flame candle in the center of the room. Its thick wax drips down upon its stand, dried up since it was last aflame. Bellamy can only watch as the man takes out a lighter from his pocket and lights the candle. No matter how loud Bellamy yells at him to stop he never does.

A spark of green light emits from the candle and a force knocks the man to the ground. As he pulls himself over to his wife, to help her usher in new life, he ignores the rushing of the wind and the howls and cries that start up from outside the shack.

Bellamy awakes in a cold sweat minutes before his alarm sounds. He’s soaked from the top of curls to the bottom of his feet. Panting. Breathless from another nightmare.

Gaining his bearings, he realizes that he’d fallen asleep on the stairs under the cupola again. He curses under his breath as he stretches out his sore muscles and knocks over his history book he had been reading the night before. His body is stiff and sticky with sweat. The cupola doesn’t circulate much air and the sun was beginning to shine brightly through the windows heating up the small space.

Bellamy gathers his blanket and textbooks and heads down into his room to get ready for the day.

It’s Halloween. Bellamy’s 16th birthday. No wonder his dream was so vivid. The dreams were always the most lucid and clear on the eve of his birthday.

He pulls out a white tee and burgundy flannel from a pile on the floor, sniffs at it, and decides it’s clean enough to wear before heading to the bathroom.

The lukewarm water washes away the grim from Bellamy’s body but he can’t shake the dream from his mind. He replays it over and over hoping to catch a new detail or decipher a new meaning.

He’s had the same dream, more or less, his whole life.

It always starts at the house that lies under the shadows of the mountains. Sometimes it’s stars the couple and sometimes it’s a trio of witches, but Bellamy is always helpless to stop anything in his dreams.

The kitchen is a disaster zone when he gets downstairs. Rolls of black fabric and tubes of glitter litter the kitchen table. A hot glue gun drips onto the marble countertop and a plethora of marked up construction paper line the floor.

“Octavia!” Bellamy calls out.

“I’m here!” A small figure pops up from the floor wrapped in something his little sister would call tulle. Octavia Blake smiles brightly at him and pushes a pencil into her knotted brown hair.

“Didn’t I tell you not to wait until the last minute to come up with a Halloween costume? It looks like Martha Stewart threw up in here.” Bellamy chides her and turns on the coffee pot.

“I was going to be Harry Potter.” Octavia stands up placing her hands on her hips. Bellamy has to laugh at her stubborn posture and walks over to the fridge without saying a word to her.

“But why can’t I be Harry Potter for Halloween, Bellamy? I’m eleven now.” Bellamy can see her stomp her foot from the corner of his eye and snorts.

“Why can’t you be Harry Potter, Octavia?” Bellamy asks, his tone serious. Octavia can’t see his face behind the fridge door but she sighs in defeat.

“Because you shouldn’t be anything from movies or books or television because you’ll turn into them on Halloween night,” Octavia recites.

“Right. So why not Harry Potter?”

“Because I won’t know who you are or where I am. And I’ll probably just shoot killing spells at Voldemort all night.”

“Exactly.”

“But I don’t know what to be!” Octavia exclaims in exasperation. _She is really becoming a drama queen in her preteen years_ , Bellamy thinks.

Bellamy shuts the fridge and sees the photographs from years past.

He looks at the first Polaroid of himself holding a baby Octavia on her first Halloween. She was wearing his pumpkin costume. It’s the first Halloween he can remember because he spent the whole night cradling a pumpkin and crying that he had lost his sister. Bellamy hadn’t lasted long in the costume himself as an infant. His mother told him how he spit up all over it before the sun could set.

Another photo catches his eye. Bellamy and his mother dressed as a knight and a princess when Bellamy was eight. He’d spent the whole month of October working on his costume. Stringing together soda pop tabs to make chain maille. Wrapping tin foil around cardboard swords and shields he had cutout. But his mother had taken them to a party at a neighbor’s house and Bellamy had fallen in the tub when bobbing for apples. He was soaked and had to take off his costume. Octavia had dressed up as a dragon and singed off most of Bellamy’s curls that night.

That’s how Halloween worked in Arkadia; it turned everyone into the thing or person that they were dressed up as from sunset to sundown, not remembering the next day. Except for Bellamy Blake. Bellamy always failed to make it in his costume so he was never cursed. He had to watch in horror as his mother and baby sister turned into witches and demons and ghouls and banshees. He would beg his mother not to dress up as anything scary when he was a child. And when his mother got ill, he dressed Octavia up as goddesses and warriors and fierce animals.

He tried to dress up as brave knights and soldiers and Greek heroes, but he never made it past twilight. Eventually he decided to hide out on Halloween night after taking Octavia trick-or-treating in the early evening.

“It’s Friday the 13th today?” Octavia says standing beside him, pulling him from his thoughts, and looking up at the calendar on the wall.

“No, what day is Halloween, O?”

“The 31st. But it says it on the calendar.” She points and Bellamy looks at the calendar himself. The numbers dance around on the calendar and Bellamy has to focus to see them clearly. She was right. The numbers for the thirty-first had been switched around. Damn, dyslexia.

“So what does that mean?”

“That two out of two people in this room are probably dyslexic.” She jokes. “Oh, and it’s your birthday, big brother. I made you your favorite pancakes. Mom style.”

She gave him a big grin and starts packing her bag for school. Bellamy looks at the plate on the kitchen island. A stack of chocolate chip pancakes with a bacon smile was waiting for him.

Bellamy avoids them and rubs at his forehead where a now nonexistent lightning bolt-shaped scar once sat. Bellamy remembers the green light shooting out of the candle—no, he shook his head—his friend, Jasper, Avada Kedavra’d him at the 6th grade Halloween dance causing a green light to be the last thing he saw that Halloween. The dream from last night had him shaken up and confused.

“Did I tell you about the time my friend dressed up as Harry Potter and shot a killing curse at me? Knocked me out cold for the whole night.” Bellamy jumps into telling the story to distract Octavia.

“You stayed out past dark on Halloween?” Octavia’s eyes widen in surprise. When Bellamy took Octavia trick-or-treating they very rarely stayed out past sundown.

“I think Mom was late picking me up that year.”

Bellamy and Octavia both look towards the living room. Octavia with sadness and Bellamy with the same numbness he always felt when he thought about his mother.

He goes to the linen closet and pulls out a fresh white sheet and carries it to the living room. He gently pulls on the warm grey blanket and replaces it with the clean sheet. He leans down and kisses the top of the head of the sleeping form before turning away.

“Don’t worry about her okay, O?” His sister manages a small smile at him and starts sorting through her papers on the floor.

“I really don’t know what to be this year.” Octavia looks back at the fridge that held all of the their Halloween photos. Octavia didn’t remember turning into a dragon or Wonder Woman or her other costumes. Bellamy had told her the stories, and she believed in him enough to take it all seriously.

Bellamy sat his school book bag on the table to clean it out, only leaving the bare necessities he needed for his classes today. He strides over to the pantry and gets a packet of beef jerky and a can of sardines placing them in his backpack. He pulls a silver lunch tin down from on top of the refrigerator and quickly opens it to assess its contents before shoving it inside as well.

“I’m going to have a few stops this afternoon before supper but you’ll be okay on your own for a few?” Bellamy asks Octavia, distracted by the photos on the fridge again, worry lining his features.

"I think I can manage. Just as long as you’re home in time for trick-or-treating!”

Once they’re both ready to go, Bellamy walks Octavia out to her bus stop and then rides his bike on to Ark High.

The trees had shaken off their summer attire, and littered the streets with their leaves, coating the ground in orange and yellow. If Bellamy was up early enough in the morning and he could see through the fog that rolled thickly across the sky like syrup, he would see the peaks of Mount Weather white with snow.

The sky was clear this morning as Bellamy rode across town to school and the mountain tops were white.

As long as Bellamy could remember the town of Arkadia loved Halloween as much as the next town, maybe even more. There were signs for trick- and trunk-or-treating, pumpkin pickings, costume stores, and half-off candy everywhere.

After taking his History test, that he had fallen asleep studying for last night, Bellamy’s teacher gave his annual spiel on the town legend of the Reaper Sisters.

“Poor Lincoln of Trikru. Neither his family nor his entire tribe ever knew what became of him those three hundred years ago. And so, the Reaper Sisters were hanged for their witchcraft and settlers eventually  settled in the shadow of the Sisters’ mountain. And some say that on Halloween night, a black cat still guards the old Reaper house, warding off any who might make the Witches come back to life.”

“Oh, please.” A voice from the back of the room says. Bellamy turns around in surprise. Usually, everyone was enraptured during the telling’s of the Reaper Sisters.

“Ah, I see we have a skeptic in our midst. Miss. Griffin, do you care to share your big city point-of-view?” Mr. Pike says addressing the new student that had just moved to town earlier that week.

Clarke Griffin straightens up in her seat and flips are blonde hair around. She eyes each of the students in front of her who have turned around to see what she had to say, including Bellamy.

“Okay. Granted that you Arkadian folk are into all of these uh, witches and black cats and magic stuff…”

“Stuff?” The teacher asks.

“Whatever. To each their own. But Halloween is just another commercialized holiday funded by the candy companies with no real backings.”

“Actually, Halloween is based on the ancient feast called All Hallows Eve. It’s the one night of the year where the spirits of the dead can return to Earth.” Bellamy hears himself saying to the blonde. She had definitely gotten under his skin.

“And then you’re going to tell me that the other rumors I hear are true too? The spirit of the dead _and_ the spirit of your costumes come to life on Halloween?”

Clarke Griffin gives him a pointed stare as the whole class erupts in laughter, but Bellamy says nothing. The bell rings signaling the end of class. The other students shuffle out as Bellamy gathers his things.

“In case Princess Leia shows up to save us all from this misogynistic dystopia we live in now, here’s my number.”

Bellamy blinks up in surprise taking a piece of paper from Clarke’s hand. He stands up and they walk out of class together as she continues talking.

“Halloween’s actually my favorite holiday. I love all of this stuff,” Clarke gestures at a passing classroom whose door was decked out with a witch’s cauldron and pumpkins. “It’s fascinating. And honestly, I’ve only got one other friend here. He’s having a Halloween party at his house if you wanted to come with.”

“I have to take my little sister trick-or-treating,” Bellamy tells her.

“Oh, sweet.” Clarke sounds genuine when she speaks. Bellamy tries to slow down his pace so she can keep up with him through the crowded hallway. She has to be barely five feet tall compared to Bellamy’s almost six. He notices her tiny form bobbing through the crowd to keep up with him.

“Well, if you don’t mind the extra company I’d love to go with you guys! I have a killer costume.” Clarke smirks at him and Bellamy feels warm all of a sudden.

“What are you going to be?” He says rubbing the palms  of his hands on his jeans.

“A Princess.”

“Like a certain one or…?” Bellamy trails off in question, pushing open the school doors. The fresh fall air hits him and he tries to breathe it in deeply.

“No, my friend, Niylah, helped me make it from scratch. She was like my best friend who I was secretly into.” Clarke begins to ramble on.

“Oh,” Bellamy says in surprise and relief.

“It’s pretty cool.”

“Sounds awesome.”

“What are you going to be?” Clarke asks him.

“I don’t dress up for Halloween.”

“I’m pretty sure everyone in this town dresses up for Halloween. So, what...don’t want to turn into a monster or be Prince Charming?” Clarke jokes.

“Something like that.” He says and she looks at him skeptically. “Hey, I’ll see you later. I gotta run.”

They were standing in front of the school by the bike rack now. Bellamy unlocks his bike and hops on waving goodbye to the blonde who was still standing there with a quizzical look on her face.

The air was crisp and clear, as Bellamy rides through town now. He pedals hard feeling his muscles strain and burn. As he passes the shops on Main Street he can see the shop owners setting out bowls of candy and last minute Halloween decorations. Toddlers and their parents would be there soon for early trick-or-treating. He misses the days when he would take Octavia here, with no worries of sunset. But she had told him three years ago she was too old for it and wanted to ring doorbells around their neighborhood like the other kids her age.

Bellamy rode around to the back of an old warehouse at the edge of town and parks his bike. The place was empty, save for the cashier, and there wasn’t much left of his inventory on the shelves.

“Welcome to the Ark Halloground. Can I help you find anything?” The man behind the counter asks him not bothering to look up from his cell phone.

“No, just looking. Thanks,” Bellamy tells him and makes his way around the outside perimeter. There really wasn’t much left. Mismatched costumes hung on racks and scraps hung from empty costume bags.

The Ark Halloground was the only place in Arkadia you could buy Halloween costumes. The old warehouse was packed with rows upon rows of apparel. As he rounds around the corner, Bellamy can see they had a very impressive DIY section, too.

Bellamy thought of all the times he had taken Octavia shopping for Halloween costumes. They didn’t have enough money to shop at a place like this. They went to the craft section of the $1 Store or Thrifts.

“Did you find anything?” the cashier asks when Bellamy makes his way back to the front of the warehouse.

“I should have taken my little sister here. Your Dye section is great!” Bellamy tells him.

“It’s D-I-Y, kid,” the cashier grunts. Bellamy thinks over the letters he had seen on the sign and rearranges them the correct way in his head.

“Right. So what was the most popular costume this year?”

“Vampires, of course. And let’s see, Marvel and DC. There was a little bit of a Mythology revival, too.”

“Any clowns?” Bellamy asks worry in his voice. He hated clowns.

“Not as many as that one year. But kids are into some scary stuff.”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks.”

Bellamy thanks the cashier for his time and leaves the Ark Halloground in search of actual hallowed ground. If there were going to be a lot of vampires and demons running around town tonight then Bellamy needed to be prepared.

The Catholic Church of Arkadia was warm and inviting when Bellamy steps inside. Bellamy and Octavia were both baptized here as infants, but he hasn’t set foot in the church since his Confirmation. A few elderly women are lighting candles at the altar and Bellamy dabs his fingers in the holy water and crosses himself before removing a small vial from his pocket. He fills it up from the basin and moves toward the Confessional.

The box is empty and Bellamy leans on it kicking one of the silver crosses free from its post. There’s a loud clang and one of the women look over in his direction. He quickly stuffs the cross in his backpack and leaves the church before the woman can ask what he’s doing.

He makes one last stop at the drugstore for duct tape and a new flashlight, before he heads home.

The sun lowering towards the horizon blinds him on his track home. He squints his eyes to fight it off and sees trick-or-treaters making their way along the streets. His little sister was going to be so pissed at him for being late.

Octavia was sitting on the front porch when Bellamy arrives home. She’s dressed in all black and her empty Halloween bucket sits sadly at her boot-clad feet.

“You’re late.” Octavia says, but Bellamy ignores her.

“Who are you dressed up as, Missy?” Bellamy asks her looking her over. She had made a skirt out of the tulle and wore a long sleeve black shirt.

“A Reaper Sister.” Octavia looks down sheepishly.

“Which one? Tell me which one now, Octavia!” Bellamy says panicking. He notices the broomstick and a black pointy hat beside her.

“Not a certain one. Just a fourth Reaper Sister Witch. I thought I could help break the curse, ” she whispers. The lecture Bellamy wants to give her falls on his lips when he sees her look down at the ground. He walks towards the steps and motions for her to stand up, he pulls her in close for an embrace and kisses the top of her head.

Even though Bellamy may feel like he’s lived a thousand lives, his baby sister hasn’t. She only half-believes in the monsters Bellamy’s had to face. She doesn’t know the danger.

"You want me to braid your hair?” He tries to force a smile to reach his eyes hoping she’ll forgive him. Her smile stretches across her face and lights up her whole body before plopping back down on the steps.

Bellamy sits behind her and begins threading her hair over and under making two tight braids down her back.

“I think it’s time for a haircut, O.” Bellamy says as he takes a hair tie from Octavia and secures her hair letting it fall at the low of her back.

“Speak for yourself, bro.” Octavia pulls at a lock of Bellamy’s curls and then grabs her things.

“Let’s go trick-or-treating!”

The streets around the Blake residence are already crowded with trick-or-treaters when Bellamy and Octavia head out. Bellamy hangs back and lets Octavia roam around the block on her own for a bit. She has a few friends who live in their neighborhood and she doesn’t like it when he hovers.  

He checks his watch for the third time since they started. Forty-five minutes until sundown. His backpack weighs heavily on his shoulders and he shifts his weight from one foot to the other as he stands at a curb with a group of middle schoolers.

Bellamy is busy counting vampires and superheroes from the group and yelps in surprise when small fingers squeeze his hips from behind. He expects to find Octavia when he turns around, but doesn’t.

“Clarke.” 

“Hi. Do you live around here?” Clarke asks and Bellamy takes a second to look around. Octavia and her friends had led him much farther down the street than he usually let them go.

“We live all the way down on Factory Street. Do you live here?”

“Over on Polis Ave.” Clarke jerks her head to the left and Bellamy glances at the fancier side of town. The houses are newer there. Bellamy’s house was old and falling apart. It had been passed down from a family member his mother told him once. He tried to repair the leaks in the roof and the chips in the paint himself, but it was nothing compared to the houses around him now. Large Dutch colonial styles with sturdy foundations and fancy arches.

On Factory Street the Halloween decorations were old and worn, sticky bats in the windows and ghosts made of sheets. Here the homes were decorated with a plethora of orange lights and blow up monsters, the pumpkins were freshly carved and the candy was top quality.

“Where’s your sister?” Bellamy places his hands in his jean pockets willing himself to calm down during the few seconds that he searches for Octavia. His eyes land on her a few houses down. She’s leaving from the last house on the street and swinging her bucket of candy over her shoulder while laughing with her friends.

“She’s trying to push her luck with me tonight,” he tells Clarke before finally getting a good look at her.

Clarke had changed out of her school clothes and wore a long dark cloak that was hiding the rest of her outfit. Her hair was pulled back with tiny little braids lining the sides of it. She had painted on dark purple eyeshadow around her eyes. Bellamy thought she looked fierce.

“So, Princess…” he tries to call her.

“Yeah, I’m a princess.” Clarke states matter-of-factly.

“No, I mean—yeah, you look nice,” Bellamy stumbles over his words and Clarke smiles at him.

“I didn’t realize it was going to be so chilly tonight. I’m kind of scared to take the cloak off.”

“I’m sure when you go to the party you’ll be warmer. Which you should probably head to now before it gets dark,” Bellamy says trying to ignore what might be under Clarke’s cloak and then trying to get Octavia’s attention. His sister had started walking on to the next street. “Where is she going? Octavia!”

Bellamy calls out for Octavia to turn around but she’s left her friends behind and isn’t listening to him. He shrugs an apology at Clarke and takes off in Octavia’s direction. He hears Clarke following behind him.

The Halloween lights run out before the streetlights do. It isn’t anywhere near sunset yet, but the sky has darkened. The wind picks up swirling the leaves up under Bellamy’s feet as he jogs to catch up with Octavia. Bellamy wishes he had brought a jacket as the air turns chillier the closer they get to the mountains.

The mountains.

Octavia was going to the Reaper Sisters’ house.

It isn’t far from the city limits. Off a main road that turns into a dirt path, and under the shadow of Mount Weather, the house sits. It’s more of a shack than a house. Three hundred years of weathered wood and stone give off the appearance that the shack is sinking right into the ground. Green moss hangs from the roof and vines entangle the porch. The chimney is crumbling. There are signs everywhere that say ‘Keep Out.’

“Okay, this is creepy.” Clarke says catching up to Bellamy and Octavia who both stand motionless in front of the house. The wind dies down and everything is quiet.

Bellamy has only ever saw this house in his dreams. It seems much smaller to him in person.

“Octavia Blake,” Bellamy takes a deep breath and asks as calmly as he can manage, “Do you want to explain to me what we’re doing here?”

“I can stop it, Bell. If we just wait until the sun goes down I can stop it.” Octavia stands tall with her chin jutted out, one hand clutching her broomstick and the other on her Halloween bucket filled with candy.

“Sometimes, when you tell me stories, I feel like I can almost remember them. It feels like when you have a word on the tip of your tongue or a dream slipping away when you wake up, you know?” Octavia tries to explain and Bellamy realizes his sister wasn’t as naive as he thought. “But I’m scared, Bell. What if I do remember? What if I go crazy like Mom? What if you do?”

“Hey,” Bellamy crouches down in front of Octavia and grab a hold of her arms as her shoulders sag in defeat.

“No, I can hear you screaming sometimes at night.” She tries to protest with tears filling her eyes.

“Hey, don't worry about me. I’d protect you like always, O.”

“But you can’t. Not forever. You can’t.” She cries desperately.

“I’m your big brother, Octavia. I will always protect you.”

Octavia wipes away her tears on her shirt and sniffles loudly. Bellamy stands and wraps his arms around her glancing over at Clarke and wondering how much she had heard.

Clarke arches an eyebrow up at him and asks, “So, you might have told your sister too many bedtime stories?”

Bellamy laughs at her joke. “We should get out of here.”

“We should go inside.” Clarke says and promptly makes her way towards the shack. Bellamy has a brief moment of thought to leave her there by herself before Octavia is pulling on his arm. 

Clarke takes a cautious step up testing her weight on the sunken steps. It’s sturdy and she tiptoes up the stairs and looks back over her shoulder at Octavia.

“What makes you a Reaper Sister and not just a regular witch?”

“Nothing, really.” Octavia shrugs.

“It’s more the intention than the actual costume,” Bellamy tells her. The Reaper Sisters lived over three hundred years ago in a world very different from the one they lived in now. They’re clothes were made out of different materials. They probably spoke a different language. The broomstick and hat, though common witch effects, were found in the shack once upon a time. The legends painted a picture when there were no pictures to go off of. Octavia didn’t know exactly how the witches dressed but they’re who she was pretending to be.

Inside the cabin, it’s damp and musty. Once used as a museum to show off the town’s history, it was now empty. The legend of the Reaper Sisters and their haunts had scared off all the visitors. Not many ventured here.

Bellamy has a hard time seeing in the darkened room. That’s all there is, just a single room with a fireplace, a table, and he can make out a pile of furs covering a bed in one corner. In the center of the room, sits a tall candelabra holding a single black candle and a book encased in glass. 

“The spell book,” Octavia shouts out in excitement and scurries into the room. Dust blows up as she runs and the floorboards groan in protest of new weight. 

“Be careful, O!” Bellamy doesn’t hesitate to run in after her and Clarke trails right behind him.

“The candle brings the witches back to life. And the spell book can show us how to stop the curse.”

Clarke looks over at Bellamy and rolls her eyes.

“You guys really take this curse thing to the next level, huh?” Clarke asks and walks over to the glass case.

“The legend says that on a full moon it will raise the spirits of the dead...when lit by a virgin…on Halloween night.” Clarke reads from a sign under the spell book.

“Hmm. So let’s light this sucker and meet the old broads.” Clarke grins manically in the shadows. “Want to make this skeptic a believer?”

“I don’t care if you believe or not. You’re not going to remember it tomorrow. And we are not staying here any longer. Let’s go, Octavia.” Bellamy has had enough of this place and takes Octavia’s hand to leave.

There’s movement in the rafters and a blur of black scurries above their heads. Bellamy has his fingers on the BIC lighter in his pocket ready to burn the whole place down. He jumps in fright, pulling the lighter out, and it falls to the ground.

Clarke picks it up ignoring the bats or the rats, or whatever it might be up there. She reaches for the candle.

“I don’t think so.” Bellamy snatches it from her hand, not wanting her to be a part of any other curses, but his finger catches on the wheel igniting a spark and it grazes the wick of the black candle.

A black cat shoots down from the rafters, knocking Bellamy and Clarke to the floor. Everything in the room goes pitch black and the wind whips through the shack causing the doors and windows to close shut.

“What happened?” Bellamy says. Clarke lay on top of him, disoriented from the fall, and he gently pushes up off the ground bringing them to a sitting position near the table.

“A virgin...lit the candle,” Octavia deadpans from across the room.

The black candle flickers and then bursts into flame. Smoke seeps out of it filling up the room. Bellamy coughs and waves his hand trying to clear the smoke from his face. He freezes when he notices three new figures standing in the room with them. Clarke goes to call for Octavia but Bellamy clamps a hand over her mouth. Beside the table they are hidden from view. 

When the smoke completely clears, Bellamy can see the three figures and he recognizes them instantly in all their terrifying glory.

“The Reaper Sisters,” he breathes, not daring to move.

The one closest to Bellamy and Clarke sniffs into the air and tilts her head to the side, curious. Her face is sharp with high cheekbones and a taut jaw. Her almond eyes are sunken and dark. Clad in all black leather with bird feathers tied into her brown hair, she looks like a bird of prey. 

“Anya,” Bellamy barely breathes.

The witch on the far side of the room is bouncing on the balls of her feet causing the coils on top of her head to spring around. The tips of her hair are bright and golden when it catches in the light. Her body jiggles with her movement as well. Bellamy can see her chest heaving, her energy like something feral.

“Costia,” he whispers again.

Bellamy doesn’t want to look at the woman in the middle, but he can’t look away. Her hair is dreaded in white and brown falling heavily past her shoulders. She wears a black hooded cloak, thicker and more intricate than Clarke’s. Where Anya’s eyes are sunken and dull, this woman’s are lifeless and cold as ice. They dart around the room taking in her surroundings, landing on the candle, the spell book...Octavia. 

“Gaia,” Bellamy breathes again. “No, Octavia.”

“Chon yu bilaik? Hakom yu kamp raun hir?” Gaia speaks, in a language Bellamy doesn’t understand. Her voice hissing and echoing around the silent room.

A feathered fiend. A feral beast. And a serpent. The Reaper Sisters were far worse than Bellamy’s nightmares could ever make them out to be.

Costia grabs hold of Octavia and twirls one of her braids around a fat, knobby finger. Her eyes fill with hunger.

“Sen biliak yongon, Gaia,” She purrs.

“Let me go, lady!” Octavia trashes under the tight grip of the witch.

“Oh, you speak the language of the Mountain Men? Pray, do tell us what year is it, little one.” Gaia snakes around to her spell book and goes to grab it through the glass. She slams her hand into the case trying to find purchase, but with no luck.

Octavia answers her slowly, “You’ve been away for over three hundred years. I merely meant to summon you so we could finish your curse.”

“Yes, the curse.” Anya and Gaia exchange a glance. “A curse to make us immortal. All I need is my spell book to correct the spell before sunrise.”

Octavia bursts into an explanation about Halloween and costumes and the legend of the Reaper Sisters.

Gaia holds up a hand for Octavia to stop. She does instantly as though she was forced by magic. Gaia moves toward Costia and Octavia slowly. Octavia tries to pull away but Costia’s claws dig in deeper.

“That curse was supposed to grant my sisters and I immortality. I’m afraid there’s been some delays and misunderstandings on your part.”

“But no bother,” Anya speaks in a wearisome voice from behind her. “We can correct it now, little witch.”

Costia grabs hold of Octavia’s other arm pinning her tightly against her chest. Her own chest heaves rapidly and her nervous energy radiates out to Bellamy who is frozen in place. His mind is moving slowly, thinking of all the things he has in his backpack. He doesn’t have anything to stop the Reapers from hurting his sister.

As Anya and Gaia stalk towards Octavia, their backs are turned away from Bellamy. Clarke jumps up from behind the table and flings herself on Gaia’s back. She rips the hood off of her head and takes hold of a section of her dreads forcing her back into a corner.

“Bellamy, grab Octavia and run for help while it’s still light out!” Clarke yells at him as she wrestles with the witch.

Daylight! The sun hasn’t set yet. The Reaper Sisters won’t be able to follow them out of the shack. Bellamy’s body comes to life as his brain kicks into overdrive. He doesn’t reach for Octavia yet, but throws open the windows letting in the sunlight. It pours into the room bathing the place in orange light and forcing all three sisters into the opposite wall.

The black cat, from earlier, flies down from the rafters again, scratching Costia so Octavia can escape from her clutches. It hisses loudly and paws at Costia’s face.

“Yu kof em sonraun op, kitty,” Costia curses flinging the cat away from her. The cat lands in Bellamy’s arms as Octavia runs toward him.

“Clarke, let’s go. They can’t follow us until the sun goes down.”

Clarke rams her leg up into Gaia’s stomach doubling her over and leaps back into the sunlight. Clarke gazes at the witches in curiosity. The witches gaze back at her and Octavia.

“And who are you supposed to be? A little witch too,” Gaia gasps between breaths.

“I’m a warrior princess, bitch,” Clarke says tossing her cloak aside and revealing a hand painted sword and a shield tied to her back on top of a dress made of mismatched materials. Bellamy sucks in a big breath of surprise at Clarke’s costume.

“Come on!” Octavia rolls her eyes, pulls at him, and  reaches for Clarke.

“Grab the spell book!” A voice by Bellamy’s feet says. Bellamy looks down in horror at the black cat.

“You can speak?”

“Hey, we can run now and ask questions later!” Clarke wraps her hand in her cloak before smashing the glass case and picking up the spell book and then the cat from the floor. “Run!”

The Reaper Sisters run toward them stopping before they hit the stream of light. Anya places a hand in it slowly and then quickly removes it. Her flesh burning. The Sisters scream and squabble with one another, but their voices fade as Bellamy, Octavia, and Clarke run away from the shack and back into town.

“All the rumors are true! I thought it was just going to turn into some big Halloween prank, but it’s real!” Clarke exclaims with excitement in her voice. She was accepting it all so easily.

Bellamy had known about the curse his whole life and he was having a hard time processes what had just happened.

“You must be Lincoln of Trikru!” Clarke squeezes the cat in her arms and they all slow down as they approach the edge of town. Clarke heads toward Polis Avenue.

The cat hops down from her arms and trots beside her.

“I’ve managed to guard that place for three hundred years without those Witches coming back to life,” Lincoln the cat speaks.

“You’ve been alive for three hundred years? That’s way more than nine lives, pal,” Bellamy tells the cat. _If Clarke can accept everything so easily, I can accept the fact that I’m talking with a cat,_ Bellamy thinks.

“The Reaper’s curse turned me into a cat _and_ kept me alive all these years. But of course _you_ would be the one to bring them back.” The cat stares up at him. 

“We have to get help,” Clarke says.

“We need to get somewhere safe before sundown,” Bellamy tells them. They pause at an empty corner street. Clarke ready to turn right towards Polis and Bellamy wanting to go left to get Octavia home.

Octavia sits down on the curb and puts the spell book in her lap. She goes to open the book, but Lincoln pounces on the cover forcing the book shut.

“No! There are dangerous spells in there. Only a Reaper Witch can perform them! But the Sisters must not get this book back!” Lincoln explains. He hops down and starts walking back the way they came.

“Follow me. I know a place the Witches can’t go.” 

Bellamy wants to protest, but Clarke and Octavia are already running after the cat. They follow him through the woods and end up in a small clearing. An old country church is nestled between the trees across the field. A few cars are parked outside with trunks open for trunk-or-treating. Most of the children, Bellamy can see, are dressed up as angels and devils and cute animal costumes. Light spills out of the open church doors, laughter fills the air and Bellamy can smell popcorn and candy apples.

They don’t go inside the church, though. Lincoln takes them around back to the graveyard. An iron-wrought fence surrounds it and creaks open when Bellamy pushes open the gate. There are rows upon rows of tombstones.

“Over here,” Lincoln calls. “I want to show you what you’re up against.”

Bellamy pulls his flashlight out of his backpack and shines the light on a headstone. It was small and the writing was much cruder than the others around it. Older.

“Here lies Roan A-a—I can’t pronounce that,” Octavia reads aloud. “A lost soul to Mount Weather’s wrath.”

“Roan of Azgeda,” Lincoln says. “He was a strong warrior that came from over the mountains. He was Gaia’s lover. And then she caught him with her sister, so she cursed him. Froze his heart so he could never love another.”

“They found him frozen on top of Mount Weather after a heavy snowfall. Her jealousy cost Gaia, though. Turned her old and ugly. That’s why the Sisters were trying to perform an immortality spell.”

“But how did you meet the witches?” Clarke asks him.

“They took my little sister, Lexa,” Lincoln begins to tell his story.

“It was Harvest Day in our village. A full moon shone brightly over the mountains. My sister and I had helped our mother decorate our home for a feast we were to have that night. I let Lexa paint my face like one of the cats that slept under the trees by our house.

I had fallen asleep and woken to my mother screaming. She told me she saw Lexa disappear into the woods and then there was a funny looking smoke rising up in the distance. I saw the thick, green smoke creeping up into the sky.

We didn’t venture that way under the mountains. The Reaper Witches lived there.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, but I was too late.

The Reaper Sisters had Lexa tied up in their shack. They sucked the life out of her right in front of my eyes. I tried to stop them but I couldn’t. I knocked over the potion, stopping the immortality spell, but I failed to protect my sister.

The witches were angry. They turned me into a cat to mock the whiskers Lexa had painted on my face that day. A reminder.” Lincoln hops down from Roan’s tombstone and looks toward the Reaper Sisters’ house.

“That’s terrible. But how was the town cursed, too?” Clarke asks with sorrow on her face.

“Someone lit the black flame candle sixteen years ago.” It’s Bellamy who speaks not Lincoln. He had had that dream enough times to know. The cat nods at him.

“The potion I knocked over soaked the candle and endowed it with the same magic the witches used on me. It would give the witches immortality and bring them back from the dead, but it would cause Arkadia to be cursed on Halloween. The candle, when lit by a virgin, would bring back the witches, but by anyone else it would cause the curse to spread.” 

“Does everyone dress up for Halloween?” Clarke asks Bellamy.

“Everyone I’ve always seen.”

“It’s part of the curse,” Lincoln tells her.

“Except for him.” Lincoln looks at Bellamy.

Bellamy avoids the cat’s gaze and looks over to the mountains. The sun was now behind them darkening the sky. It would be sundown soon.

“We should get going. We might be safe from the Reaper Sisters here, but that’s not all that we have to worry about tonight.” Bellamy puts his flashlight away and pulls Octavia up from off the ground. Her witch hat is lopsided and she’s lost her bucket of candy, but she clutches on tightly to the spell book. Bellamy takes it from her and tucks it away in his backpack.

A noise from the church jerks all of their heads up and a man in a Devil’s costume steps out the back door. 

“You kids better get inside, the play is about to start!” The man yells at them and then turns to go back in.

“It’s almost sundown. Everyone i-is going to...to start turning into their costumes. That...that was...that was the Devil. Okay...okay,” Clarke stammers real panic welling up in her eyes for the first time tonight.

Bellamy grabs Clarke’s shoulders giving them a tight squeeze and focuses his eyes on hers. Her bright blue eyes dart around and look towards the church.

“Hey, Clarke, look at me. Take a deep breath.” Clarke takes a shaky breath and her blue eyes look back at Bellamy’s dark brown ones.

“He was dressed as the Devil.”

“He was. What do you know of the Devil?” Bellamy asks her calmly.

“He’s a fallen angel who reigns over Hell, where people burn in fire and brimstone for eternity,” Clarke says rapidly.

“Look around, Clarke,” Bellamy lets her shoulders go and gestures around the clearing. “No Hell here. He’s going to be scary, his pitchfork might hurt if you get too close, but he’s harmless.”

“And I’m a Reaper Witch and you’re a Warrior Princess. We’ll be fine,” Octavia comes up beside Clarke and takes hold of her hand. 

“So how does it work?” Clarke clears her throat and grips tightly to Octavia’s hand.

“The curse? It’s simple. You turn into whatever you’re dressed up as. And you take on the characteristics that are commonly known about it. So the Reaper Sisters? Bad, if you’re dressed up as Anya, Gaia, or Costia. Because you’ll be and think just like them. But a general Reaper Witch, you can perform spells and ride on broomsticks or whatever,” Bellamy tries to explain.

“So I can be Elsa from Frozen if I want to sing Let It Go all night or I can be just a Princess with a sword if I want to be myself?”

“Right. And some characters work fine like Hercules or Athena. Cleopatra. Sometimes even Einstein or Gandhi. The more in the past the better.”

“I mean, you’ll practically be a deity or a genius, but it’s better than being a dinosaur or some kind of animal all night. No offense, Lincoln,” he adds.

The cat appears to shrug at him. 

“What’s your costume?” Clarke asks.

“I don’t have one. The curse has never worked on me.” It’s Bellamy’s turn to shrug now. “So where are we going?”

“I think we’re late to a Halloween party.”

Clarke leads them through the woods taking the shortest route to Polis Avenue. Bellamy glances at his watch. _Ten more minutes_.

Clarke stops in front of the biggest house on the street. 

“This is it?” Bellamy asks and Clarke nods. “You didn’t tell me you were friends with the Mayor’s son!”

“Do you know Wells?” 

“Yeah, Class President. Captain of the football team. I know of him, sure. How do you know Wells Jaha?”

“We’ve known each other since we were kids. Mayor Jaha recommended my mom for the job at Ark Hospital. He’s the whole reason we moved here. My mom should be off work by now, too. Come on.”

“Stay close, Octavia,” Bellamy tells his sister watching her pick up Lincoln and they follow Clarke into the mansion.

The chaos of the last hour is nothing compared to the Jahas’ Halloween Party. When Bellamy steps inside, his senses are immediately overwhelmed. The house is packed with people, teenagers from Ark High and friends of the Mayor’s. A fog machine smokes up the foyer and a strobe light catches on the fog shooting out a multitude of light into the house like a nightclub. Music thumps from the speakers in the wall shaking the very foundation of the house. As they push their way through the dancing bodies, Bellamy can smell apple cider and pumpkin treats floating in from the kitchen.

Clarke keeps pushing her way through until they reach a sunroom and then go out into the backyard. There’s a pool and a tiki bar lined with more guests. Bellamy takes note of a girl dressed as a mermaid and a football jock dressed as Left Shark talking by the pool. That was going to be a splash in a few moments.

“Clarke, we really need to find your mom, like now. The sun,” Bellamy calls after Clarke pointing to the sun hanging at its lowest point in the sky.

“Bellamy what’s going to happen?” Octavia looks up at him with worry. Bellamy never kept Octavia out past sunset on Halloween anymore and she wouldn’t remember it even if he did.

They stop under a tree in the backyard, away from the crowd, and let Clarke continue searching for her mother.

“When the sun sets, it’s going to get really crazy. Just stay close to me,” Bellamy tells Octavia. She’s rubbing at her wrist. A purple and yellow bruise is forming where Costia had held her.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry I froze with the Reaper’s, but nothing is going to hurt you here. I promise.”

Octavia pulls the sleeve down on over her wrist, grips tighter to her broomstick, and stares toward the sun.

“That’s my little witch.” Bellamy beams at her proudly.

“Hey, guys! I can’t find my mom, but I did find us some help!” Clarke is walking over with someone dressed in a Black Panther costume.

“Make it fast, Clarke. We don’t have much time left,” Bellamy tells her looking nervously at the person dressed as the Black Panther. They lift their mask from up off their face.

It’s Wells Jaha.

“What’s up, man? How’s it going? Do you want anything to drink?” Wells goes in to give Bellamy a fist bump, a wide welcoming grin on face, and then points back to the tiki bar. There’s a group of guys dressed as vampires standing there.

“Wells, I told you we need your help. You see we…”

Before Clarke can finish her sentence the sun hits the horizon. Time seems to slow down as the sun begins to set. The curse is gradual and then all at once, like falling asleep, as it takes over the partygoers.

A vampire Bellamy was watching dressed up as Dracula turns into a bat in the blink of an eye and flies up into the sky.

Two jocks dressed as inflatable T-Rex’s charge each other. The polyester of their costumes turn into dinosaur hide and their grunts turn to growls. A group of girls dressed as Disney Princesses watch in horror as the dinosaurs tumble down the yard and out of view.

The mermaid dives into the pool followed by Left Shark. They thrash around under the water until the mermaid is able to shake him off. He stalks off to the deep end and she sits on the stairs flopping her tail in the water.

Clarke, Octavia, and Wells stare in shock, before their own costumes take hold.

Bellamy always hated this part. He could always tell by a person’s eyes. One moment they were there and the next they’re not. Glassy eyes and a vacant face. And then poof! They were back.

Wells is first. He stares blankly at Clarke before slipping his mask back over his face. The spandex expands over Wells’ muscles and the plastic turns into hard vibranium. The claws of his costume pop out and he crouches low to the ground looking for an enemy to attack.

Clarke spaces out and then grabs the sword from behind her back. Her homemade costume changes into real leather and the paint on her face glistens in the fading light. Her hair swishes around as she whips it from side to side.

And then Octavia. Her eyes dart around like Costia’s. Her body slithers like Gaia’s. And her voice is as calm as Anya’s.

“The Sisters will be here soon. Bellamy, what do we do?” Bellamy sighs in relief when he realizes Octavia is still in there. She wasn’t lost to her Reaper Sister costume.

Clarke sheaths her sword and pulls out her shield in defense, but Wells is still ready to attack.

“Hey, Princess. Why don’t you let our friend, King of Wakanda, here, know what’s going on?” Bellamy points to Wells and slings his backpack around to his stomach.

The group of vampires have all turned toward them and they’re eyeing Bellamy’s group hungrily. One flies as fast as light towards them, but Bellamy has his hands on a silver cross and the other on the holy water. He splashes some into the vampire’s face and pushes the cross at another warding them off. The vampires hiss, but move on to another victim.

The doors to the mansion open and more partygoers spill out into the backyard. Skeletons with their bones shaking and werewolves howling at the rising moon run out. A police officer has two prisoners in handcuffs. Harry Potter fights Draco Malfoy.

“It’s like Halloweentown,” Clarke says next to Bellamy and watches the procession.

“Like what?”

“Disney movie!” Octavia tells him scooping up Lincoln in her arms.

“More like a Halloween Purge.” Bellamy says and watches a Scary Clown chase after Ghost Face. The Scream character doubles around and chases back after the clown with a knife clutched in his hand.

A zombie comes out of nowhere passing right in front of Bellamy. Octavia screams and the zombie looks up from the ground at her. Arms reaching and mouth open wide, Bellamy stuffs a sardine into its mouth and Clarke pushes it into the pool. 

“Sardines?” Clarke calls out fighting off another zombie. 

“Eighth grade. I had run out of the house to take the trash out and ran into one on Halloween. The zombie thought it tasted like brains.” Bellamy throws some more sardines into the air and Clarke chuckles at him.

“What else do you have in that bag, Mary Poppins?”

Clarke’s Warrior Princess had given her increased speed and agility. She was more fearless than anything Bellamy had ever seen before. She was also more beautiful than anything.

“Princess, we must move to somewhere safer,” Wells comes up to Clarke speaking in a Chad Boseman Wakanda accent. He had come to some kind of realization that Clarke was a friend and they were in danger.

“Oh, I see my mom,” Clarke ignores Wells and waves over to a woman dressed as Medusa. Bellamy grabs her arm and tries to get her to stop. He can see the nest of snakes coil around on top of the woman’s head.

“Clarke, don’t look at her in the eyes. Don’t.” Clarke’s mom, Medusa, doesn’t notice them, but then Bellamy notices the last three figures to exit the mansion.

“Jus drein jus daun,” The Reaper Sisters chant in unison. Free from the sun’s prison, they had arrived a lot quicker than Bellamy imagined they would have. Broomsticks dragged on the ground behind them. The people in generic costumes, who were still half themselves, screamed out in terror at the Witches’ arrival.

“Blood must have blood,” Lincoln translates. “They’re here for the spell book. We can’t let them have it.”

Wells and Clarke immediately stand in front of Octavia, weapons and claws out. Bellamy throws his backpack around to his back tightening the straps. The spell book falls out and hits the ground. Octavia picks it up. Bellamy stands beside her with his lighter in one hand and he clenches his fist in the other. 

“Oh, kitty cat. We don’t want _just_ the spell book,” Costia purrs at the cat. She circles around a group of mad scientists and doctors.

“What fun this night is. All Hallows Eve.” Gaia inclines her head around the yard eyeing all the chaos. “Witches and vampires and all sorts of evil...just running...amok!”

“Amok! Amok! Amok!” Anya and Costia repeat. Costia cackles as Anya shoots forward for Octavia. Clarke slashes her sword into the air as Anya hops on her broom soaring up into the air. Wells springs up catching the end of her stick and sends her flying back to the ground.

“It’s not just evil out here, witch.” Clarke charges toward Gaia her sword in one hand and shield in the other. Gaia starts speaking in the Witches’’ strange language again throwing Clarke off to the side like she’s nothing.

Octavia screams at her to stop and slams the book into the ground. It sends out a shudder knocking everyone to the ground.

“Yes.” Gaia’s thin lips pull back exposing her teeth forming a wicked smile.

Bellamy is thrown a few feet away and freezes up in terror again. The Reapers want his sister. His little sister with a new found power so great inside her. He sees her the way the Reaper’s do now. With their hungry and selfish eyes.

“My sister. My responsibility,” he whispers standing up slowly and walking toward the tiki bar. He only needs to get a few feet away.

Clarke glances his way. She’s been thrown off a ways, too, leaving Octavia by herself in the open. Clarke crawls over to Wells who is fidgeting with his necklace, trying to call Shuri for backup.

Octavia stands back up bringing the spell book with her. Lincoln stays crouched down low to the ground.

“Give it here, little witch.” Anya reaches out for the book, joined by her sisters, they walk towards Octavia. All of their eyes focusing on her.

“Clarke,” Bellamy whispers, “Where does Jaha keep his keys?”

“What?” Clarke asks confusion written all over her face.

“I have a plan. But we need to get out of here quickly in case it doesn’t work,” Bellamy explains inching closer to the tiki bar.

“Wells! Hey, T’Challa, I need the keys to your, uh, jet.” Wells stops tinkering with his necklace and pulls out a set of keys from around his neck under his costume. “Thanks, now I need your help to distract those women.”

Clarke and Wells form a plan to bring the Witches closer to Bellamy. Bellamy looks up as they circle closer to Octavia.

“Now!” Bellamy yells as Clarke hits the ground letting Wells spring off of her back. The Black Panther’s claws spring out again and grab hold of a Reaper Sister.

Clarke jumps up and slings her shield as hard as she can hitting another. The witches shake them off quickly. They slither back as Clarke and Wells pounce. It’s like watching a dance.

Bellamy swipes the lasso from an unsuspecting Wonder Woman and tosses it to Clarke.

“Tie them up! Octavia, come here!” Bellamy calls for his sister, his heart beating wildly in his chest as he prepares for what’s next.

Clarke quickly wraps the lasso tightly spinning the Reaper Sisters together. Trapped.

“Oh, you little knight without armor. You’re not even dressed up in a costume. How do you expect to beat real witches?” Gaia taunts him. They stand face-to-face. The Reapers strain against the rope trying to find a way to escape, but the Lasso of Truth keeps them trapped.

“I’m not going to let you hurt my sister.” Bellamy backs up to the tiki bar and takes hold of someone’s arm spinning them around. He squeezes his eyes shut and hopes Clarke and Octavia do the same.

Before the Reaper Sisters can blink, Medusa turns them into stone.

Their bodies harden as the stone creeps its way down freezing them into place. Gaia’s face full of hatred mixed with the surprise in her eyes makes the witch look comical. Anya and Costia share a look of pure shock. Clarke lets the lasso fall to the ground.

“I found your mom.” Bellamy grins at her still avoiding looking Medusa straight in the face. The snakes hiss and snap at the air.

“Yeah, I’ll have to introduce you some other time.”

“You did it, Bell!” Octavia throws her arms around Bellamy’s middle. He hugs her back still feeling the power radiate from the little witch.

“Let’s get you home, O,” he tells her. Clarke thanks Wells’ Black Panther for his help and they run for the garage.

“The streets are still going to be pretty crazy so keep your eyes open for…” Bellamy trails off when the garage door opens.

Bellamy was expecting to see Wells Jaha’s old Beamer he drove to school, but when he hit the key fob the lights of a shiny black Rover flash at him.

“Do you have your license yet, Clarke?” Bellamy gulps and tries to hand her the keys.

“Nope. My birthday isn’t until February. And there’s no way I’m getting behind the wheel while in Warrior Princess Mode.”

“Come on, Bellamy. Today’s your birthday. You took Driver’s Ed. And I want to go home,” Octavia points out with a small whine in her voice.

“Right.” They all hop in the Rover. Bellamy runs his fingers along the steering wheel before turning the ignition and the vehicle roars to life. 

Before they can leave the driveway, the two T-Rex from earlier come charging through the front yard. Bellamy swerves around them and guns it down Polis Avenue.

“If the witches are dead why are we still our Halloween costumes?” Clarke asks in frustration. She hits the dashboard leaving a dent in it, the strength of the Warrior Princess overpowering her. 

“It’s fine. That’ll be gone tomorrow. I don’t know, Clarke. The Reaper Witches probably needed to stop the spell.”

Bellamy drives carefully through the streets of Arkadia, which are full of monsters and creatures.

Octavia is quiet in the backseat, Bellamy glances back to see her scratching Lincoln’s belly who appears to be falling asleep. Slowly Octavia opens the Reaper spell book with her other hand.

“Octavia…,” Bellamy warns looking at her in the rearview mirror.

“There has to be a way to stop the curse and help Lincoln!” Octavia says flipping through the pages of the spell book.

“Listen to this: Fis flavia op raunon a ripa. A ring of salt can protect you from the Reapers.”

“You can understand their language?” Clarke asks.

“Still a Reaper Sister, duh!”

Bellamy stops as a group of Day of the Dead Skeletons cross the street. Like the skeletons earlier, their bones shake and rattle as they move. Some appear more ghostly than others. Bellamy clicks the lock button on the Rover.

“We’re going to be here for a few minutes,” he says and settles back in his seat. Clarke kicks her feet up on the dashboard.

“So, what exactly am I going to remember in the morning?” Clarke asks him. Bellamy looks over at her. Her face illuminated from the lights of the dashboard, the purple shadows still outlining her eyes and her cheeks appear as soft as butter. Bellamy places his hands back on the steering wheel to keep himself from reaching out to touch her.

“You’re going to remember it being one hell of a Halloween,” he sighs, “but not in any kind of detail, I’m afraid.”

“Well, this has been the best night of my life, so thanks, Bellamy.” Clarke slides her hand onto Bellamy’s knee giving it a light squeeze. Bellamy shifts uncomfortably in his seat and she pulls away.

“Sorry, I-I...can you believe it’s only nine o’clock?” Bellamy points to the clock on the dash and looks back up at the skeleton procession.

“Bellamy, you were really brave tonight. I don’t think I could have done half the stuff you did without a costume.”

“Who are you kidding? You took on the Reaper Sisters before sunset when you were still yourself.” The corners of Clarke’s lips smirk into a small, proud smile.

“What do you think the Sisters were going to do?” Clarke whispers and Bellamy glances back at Octavia. She has the spell book open and is muttering under her breath.

“Octavia’s intention to be a Reaper Sister to break the curse made her really powerful. They probably wanted her power.”

Bellamy looks back at the road and it’s empty. Not a single skeleton or soul is in sight. The moon had fully risen into the night sky, large and the color of cream.

“That’s weird. Where did they all go?” Bellamy and Clarke look out the windows searching for people on the streets. Clarke looks down at the clock on the dashboard. 

“What time did you say it was?” 

“Nine?”

“So why does it say five minutes after one now?”

“Oops,” Octavia speaks up from the backseat shutting the spell book. “I was trying to find a spell to get us home quicker but I think I sped up time.” 

“I mixed up the letters. It says ‘aftaim won’ and ‘mou snap taim now.’ But I read it wrong.” Octavia looks at Bellamy sheepishly. 

“I didn’t even feel a thing,” Clarke says.

Lincoln stretches out beside Octavia and hops up to the front of the Rover.

“Stretch your legs out. Move your fingers,” Lincoln commands them and Bellamy obeys, feeling the tingles in his legs and the tension from gripping the steering wheel in his fingers. His body sure felt like three hours had passed.

“I told you that book was dangerous,” Lincoln scolds Octavia. 

Bellamy puts the Rover in drive and they continue on their way to Factory Street. It’s quiet out now. Only a few wandering zombies and ghosts float by.

Bellamy and Octavia’s house is dark. There’s no movement or lights on inside. They all leap out of the Rover and Clarke walks over to Bellamy.

“I should probably get back home now.” 

“What? No! There’s not many people out now, but it’s still not safe. Just come hang out until sunrise. Your mom is not going to miss you.” Bellamy convinces her and they all move to go inside, except for Lincoln

The cat jumps up on the white fence bordering the Blakes’ property and looks at the mountains.

“They’ll be gone by sunset. Frozen in stone like that. I’ve waited three hundred years, since they took Lexa.”

“You really miss her, don’t you? But man, you can’t keep blaming yourself for it. It happened a long time ago,” Bellamy tells him.

“Take good care of Octavia, Bellamy. You never know how precious she is until you lose her.” Lincoln walks along the fence away from Bellamy.

“Hey, Linc! Where do you think you’re going? You’re one of us now.”

“Come on, Lincoln. Let’s go home,” Octavia calls to the cat from the stoop of the house. After living more than three hundred years as a cat, Lincoln felt like more an animal than he did a human. He runs to Octavia and jumps in her arms purring loudly in content.

Bellamy approaches the front door first, his house keys in his hand, with Octavia and Clarke behind him. He pauses before turning the key in the lock.

“Octavia, take Clarke straight to my room and wait for me there, okay?”

“Why? What’s wrong? Are your parents home?” Clarke asks as Octavia grabs her arm. When Bellamy opens the door Octavia hurries them past and up the stairs.

Bellamy enters the house cautiously. He shuts the door behind him as quietly as he can. He skips over the floorboard that squeaks and peeks into the kitchen. Octavia’s attempts at a Halloween costume litter the table and the morning dishes sit in the sink. He walks past the pantry and pulls out a can of salt before moving on.

He holds his breath as he walks into the living room. The television casts a faint glow in the room, but the couch is empty.

“Bellamy!” Octavia yells from upstairs. Bellamy takes the stairs two at a time. His heart rate picks up and he finds his sister and Clarke pressing up against a wall in the hallway. Clarke has her eyes squeezed shut and Octavia is softly crying. 

Aurora Blake stands in front of Bellamy’s bedroom blocking the door. She sways from side to side. The white sheet Bellamy had covered her with earlier had turned his mother into a ghost for Halloween. She hovers a few feet off the ground and her eyes are dead to the world.

“Stand behind me,” Bellamy tells the girls and they move quickly. Bellamy says a quick apology to his mother and pulls out one of his silver crosses.

The ghost immediately cowers against the door. Bellamy moves closer and guides his mother away and toward her own bedroom. Her ghostly body shimmers in the moonlight and she glides right through her door. Bellamy leaves the cross propped up against the door and ushers Clarke and Octavia inside his room.

“Y-you-your mom’s a ghost?” Clarke whispers shakily.

Octavia climbs into Bellamy’s bed still sniffling and cuddles up to Lincoln. Bellamy ignores Clarke and pulls the sheet up around Octavia. He sits down on the bed and looks up at Clarke. 

“You asked earlier if everyone dressed up for Halloween? I stopped even trying, but after Octavia was born my mom started to remember. She decided not to dress up one year. But she threw a sheet right over her head as the sun went down and turned herself into a ghost.”

“Is she okay?” Clarke asks.

“She remembers. She remembers everything.”

Bellamy sighs and looks down at Octavia who had already fallen asleep. He gets up and pulls a blanket off his bed bringing it to the stairs under the cupola and sits down. Clarke sits down beside him.

“She didn’t even look like she recognized anything. It was so scary.”

“It’s hard to think of a ghost as scary when you live with one all the time. They can’t hurt you. 

“She was fine from what I remember when I was little. It was after Octavia was born that it started. She would wake up from these nightmares or she would get lost in thought cooking dinner. And then she started to see things that weren’t there when she was awake. Finally one day she just stopped talking and wouldn’t get up from the couch. 

I called 9-1-1. They told me she was catatonic with no reason why. She’s been this way for years now. I guess it’s just her mind’s way to protect her from all the things she’d seen. 

“What about your dad?” Clarke questions him and places her hand on top of Bellamy’s. He doesn’t flinch away this time and laces their fingers together.

“This house actually belongs to his family. My parents had just moved here when my mom was still pregnant with me. She always told me that he up and disappeared after I was born. I don’t know. And I don’t even know who Octavia’s father is. It’s just us.” Bellamy shrugs and leans back against the wall. Clarke leans against Bellamy.

“My dad died last year. That’s the real reason we moved here. Jaha offered my mom a job so we could get out of the city. But I can’t imagine going through what you’ve been through.”

“No, I’m sorry, too. We shouldn’t have to go through any of this.” Bellamy is angry now. Years of taking care of his mother and sister. Years of being alone on this night every year. And now dragging Clarke into it all.

“I still think you’re incredibly brave.” Clarke squeezes Bellamy hand and begins to rub her thumb against his in small circles to calm him.

“I think you’re beautiful.” Bellamy doesn’t realize he’s spoken out loud until Clarke rests her head on Bellamy’s shoulder and looks up at him.

With their faces inches apart, Bellamy can feel Clarke’s soft breath on his chin. He tilts his face down and their lips meet. His hands go up in Clarke’s silky blonde tresses and she lifts her hands to his face to draw him closer.

Their kiss seems to go on forever. If Octavia could speed up time with a spell, then Bellamy and Clarke could freeze it with a kiss.

Clarke pulls away first for air and Bellamy gives her one more kiss on her forehead. They settle in together under the blanket and fall asleep exhausted from the wild, unbelievable night.

In Bellamy’s dream, all he can think of is that he should have used duct tape.

_The Jahas’ mansion is still full of guests. Trapped in their costumes, the house is in chaos. Bellamy can hear the crackling of the needle on a record player where the DJ has run off into the night._

_He walks silently like a ghost through the house. Looking through the back window, he can see the Reaper Sisters still frozen in stone._

_A group of high schoolers dressed as Harry Potter characters have formed a circle around the witches. They shoot spells and curses at each other. A few bounce off of the witches. Bellamy watches in horror as cracks begin to form in the stone before it all shatters down around the Reaper Sisters. The duct tape definitely would have held them together longer._

Bellamy bolts upright on the stairs in a panic and falls down a step taking the blanket and Clarke with him.

“Hey,” Clarke says sleepily looking up at Bellamy.

“Hey,” Bellamy says in a shaky voice. He tries to shake off the dream and looks over to his empty bed.

“Where’s Octavia?”

“It’s almost six o’clock. The sun should be up soon,” Clarke says reading the time on Bellamy’s clock and pulling the blanket back up around her.

Bellamy notices how unusually cold the room is.

“Something’s not right.” He calls for his sister and Lincoln, standing up and climbing down the stairs into his room. Clarke sighs and stretches out her body before reaching for the spell book. She grabs at thin air.

“Bellamy, the book’s gone, too!”

Bellamy throws open his bedroom door.

“Trick or treat!” It’s the Reaper Sisters.

“Looking for this? And this?” Gaia has the spell book in one hand and her other arm wrapped around Octavia. Costia and Anya push into the room in front of her, knocking Bellamy down to the ground. Anya has a pillow case that wiggles and thrashes around holding Lincoln inside.

Clarke jumps down the flight of stairs and grabs the salt Bellamy had brought up earlier. She shakes its contents around her and Bellamy forming a circle around them.

“Salt. Ha! What a clever little princess,” Costia cackles. She paws at them in delight.

“But it will not save all of your friends. Come, sisters. The candle’s magic is almost spent. Dawn approaches.” Gaia pulls Octavia up onto her broomstick with her. The witches fire a spell at the roof sending it flying off. Splinters of wood and glass rain down. Clarke covers Bellamy with her body.

When Bellamy comes to he can hear Octavia screaming for help as she flies off into the sky with the Reapers.

Shaking off the dust and glass, Clarke stands and offers her hand to Bellamy. He takes it and she pulls him up. A few glass shards twinkle in Clarke’s hair and he gently brushes them away.

“Are you okay?” Clarke asks, their faces are close, but Bellamy turns away.

“They took her. The Reaper Sisters took my sister.” Bellamy kicks at a pile of clothes by his bed in frustration. 

“So, we go get her,” Clarke states, like it’s the simplest thing in the world. She slides her shoes back on, quickly folds up Bellamy’s blanket placing it on his bed and picks up her sword and shield.

“Didn’t you hear the witch? The candle’s magic will soon be spent when dawn approaches. The candle only brought them back for Halloween night. When the sun comes up, they’re dust!” 

“So we just have to hold them off for another hour and keep them from using Octavia to complete their spell,” Bellamy exclaims, the hope swelling in his chest.

Bellamy grabs his backpack and they run downstairs to the kitchen. Bellamy tosses another can of salt in his bag and searches for a bigger lighter. In the back of the junk drawer, Bellamy’s fingers find a box of matches.

“Let’s go!”

Bellamy runs out to the garage and grabs Octavia’s bike for Clarke, who is running toward the Rover. There’s no time for that though. She notices the bike and doubles back to him. They hop on and take off.

Racing across the town of Arkadia, Bellamy feels the beat of every second tick by. With no time to waste, they weave through the streets and cut across through the forest as carefully as they can in the dark. Sweat breaks out on his forehead as he pushes his legs to pedal faster. When he glances back at Clarke, the Warrior Princess, she doesn’t even seem to be out of breath.

As they ride, the stars in the sky slowly began to fade. Bellamy can make out a faint light through the trees as they approach the base of the mountain and the Reaper Sisters’ house comes into view.

“We need to get the Reaper Sisters outside. As soon as the sun peeks over that horizon they’ll be toast,” Bellamy whispers to Clarke as they stash their bikes and creep towards the cabin.

Smoke is rising up over the south side of the Reaper Sisters’ house and as Bellamy and Clarke draw closer they realize it’s coming from the crumbling chimney. Thick green smoke billows through the cracks and puffs out the top. It smells putrid and Bellamy motions for Clarke to follow him away from the chimney and around to the front of the Witches’ dwelling.

Bellamy grabs hold of the windowsill and pushes himself up to see inside. A cauldron in the fireplace is bubbling with grey dense bubbles which turn green as they leave their boil rising into the air. The flames that lick underneath it are a strange neon red.

Anya and Costia scuttle around the room adding more and more things to the witches’ brew. Anya pulls a glass of eyeballs down from a high shelf. Costia has a ragged pair of scissors and cuts a lock from her hair. As she goes to the center of the room, Bellamy sees Octavia tied to a chair. Her eyes are glassy as she incants from the spell book.

Costia chops off Octavia’s left braid and dumps the clumps of hair into the cauldron. Bellamy claws at the window and kicks his feet, but Clarke pulls Bellamy down before he can jump up and through the window.

“We have to get in there before they hurt her,” Bellamy says fuming. Clarke yanks Bellamy down and under the front porch as soon as the front door flies open.

Through the slats in the wood, Bellamy can see a long black cloak drag on the ground and hear the click-clack of heels on the porch. Clarke quickly covers his mouth with her hand and points at the air. The condensation from their breath in the early cold of the morning floats up. Bellamy takes a deep breath and holds it.

“Fools,” Gaia’s sharp voice cuts across the air. “It is as dead as the night out here. You heard nothing!” 

Anya and Costia chatter back and forth in disagreement. Gaia walks down the steps her warm breath rippling up into the cold early morning. She looks around unaware that Bellamy and Clarke lay a little below her feet.

“But in case of any unwanted visitors,” Gaia says and turns in the direction of the graveyard. “Roun kom Azgeda, sen si in.”

Gaia raises her arms up and recites a spell, “Gyon op. Shil op. Gyon op. Shil op. Gyon op. Shil op.” 

Gaia finishes her spell and promptly returns inside.

“Great, she’s summoned her frozen dead corpse lover,” Clarke says letting out the breath she was holding and getting up from under the porch. Bellamy follows her slowly.

He isn’t so sure that’s what the witch was doing, but before he can argue with her the air turns cold as ice. The dew forming on the grass turns to frost and the stone steps of the porch freeze over. Bellamy breathes in a cold, shuddering breath.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Bellamy looks around at their surroundings. Piles of dried leaves and fallen trees are strewn around the Reaper property. An idea begins to form in his head.

“When that Roan guy gets here do you think you can hold him off?” Bellamy questions Clarke as they walk over to a small fallen tree trunk. He begins breaking up some of the frozen pieces of bark and takes out a container of salt and a silver flask.

Clarke unsheathes her sword from her back and swings it around twirling the blade is an ostentatious manner. Bellamy smirks at her in approval.

“And I’ll lure the Witches outside.” He moves over to a pile of leaves, kicks them around, shakes out some salt, and pours a clear liquid out on top of the leaves.

“Or you could run for help.” The doubts begin to seep into Clarke’s features. She lowers her sword and looks up at the sky. “It’ll be sunrise soon, Bellamy. I don’t know if we can survive. You don’t have any powers to beat the Reapers. And I don’t know if my Warrior Princess can defeat a real warrior! ”

“Who we are, and who we need to be to survive are very different things,” Bellamy tells her gruffly. “I don’t need superpower strength or a costume to defeat them. And I’m tired of being afraid every night year after year because of nightmares and curses, Clarke.”

“But fears are fears. It’s time to slay my demons when I’m awake.” Bellamy reaches into his pocket and pulls out the box of matches.

Clarke looks around her and sees the half circle of dead leaves and branches Bellamy had formed in front of the Reapers’ house. The outline of Mount Weather was beginning to show as the sun was slowly waking up.

“Here he comes,” Bellamy nods toward the direction of the old church as a tall, broad figure comes trudging up the hill.

His long, brown hair is tied back and frozen to his head. From his beard icicles hang and his armor is covered with fur. His boots stomp in the frost and he carries a sword twice the size of Clarke’s. The mighty warrior of Azgeda is awake.

“Clarke,” Bellamy says and grabs ahold of Clarke’s arm pulling her closer to him. “If this doesn’t work and you don’t remember anything in the morning, I promise not to let anything…”

The words fall from his lips when Clarke crashes into him. Her body pressing up to his. Their lips burn together as they kiss. Bellamy feels Clarke deepen the kiss with her tongue. He sweeps his own tongue out to meet her and she tastes as sweet as honey. After what feels like hours they pull apart.

Roan of Azgeda now stands at the edge of Bellamy’s ring of kindling and salt. He doesn’t speak, but his icy eyes smolder with anger.

“Ready, Princess?” Clarke tips her head at him. Bellamy leaves Clarke at the edge of the ring near Roan and runs over to where it ends at the Reapers’ house. He reaches down and strikes a match on a rock.

Roan looks at him curiously. Clarke swings her sword around and slices through the air at the warrior.

Bellamy drops the match onto the cold ground. He pulls out the flask that was hidden in the lunch tin in his bag. He takes a swig of the hard liquor and tosses it out onto the small flame. The match and the vodka ignite the foliage and a fire roars to life, unfreezing and burning everything in its path. 

Clarke takes another swing at Roan while he is distracted by the flames and then jumps back before she can be burned. They stand only inches apart staring at each other as the flames reach above Clarke’s head. Roan clutches at his arm where Clarke’s sword had nicked him.

Bellamy can’t watch the two any longer and turns to face the Reaper Sisters’ house. He can see three faces peering at him through the window.

He hurries towards the house and runs up the stairs. The door is ajar and he puts his shoulder into it busting the door to the shack wide open. A cold wind follows behind him sweeping in the frost and blowing the dust-up in the house.

Bellamy is temporarily blinded by the debris, but frail hands grab hold of him and pull him inside.

Three hooded figures stand behind Octavia in the center of the room. Her eyes are closed and her head is bowed like she’s in prayer. But her body betrays her by sinking low into the chair and her head rests at an odd angle. Bellamy can see Lincoln struggling to get free in a burlap sack by Octavia’s feet.

“What did you do to my sister?” Bellamy snarls ready to claw the hoods off of the witches’ heads, but he can’t move. The Reapers have placed a spell on him immobilizing his body.

“The Curse has drained us all, little knight,” Gaia speaks slowly in the middle of the trio. Her voice feeble and soft. Weak. 

“Well, if you're done with your little spell, I think I’ll just take my sister and leave. It’s almost sunrise.” Bellamy wants to nod his head at the windows,  but can only manage to move his eyes in that direction. Through the ice-covered glass, the fire lights up the outside making it look like the sun is beginning to rise.

“You play tricks, boy,” Costia chirps. Her claws paw at the fabric of her hood and Bellamy notices how her curls have turned from golden to gray. 

“No, you can let us go and then drink your potion. We won’t stop you from your immortality.” Bellamy tries to move with all his might and gain an inch closer to Octavia. The Reapers’ magic was weakening.

“Stupid,” Anya huffs. She glides over to the cauldron stirring the pot with a heavy iron ladle.

“Sweet little knight,” Gaia walks toward him. The hood of her cloak slips back revealing her ugly, old face. Three hundred years of wrinkled flesh and spots of age make her hideous. “We don’t just want immortality for ourselves.”

Bellamy’s face clouds with confusion. The black flame candle flickers behind Gaia and Bellamy can smell the foul potion from the cauldron. He hears the clang of swords as Clarke continues to battle Roan. Time was running out.

“We want all of Arkadia to join us in immortality. As long as they remain trapped as monsters and devilish beings like they are tonight.” Gaia cackles like the witch she is at her heinous plan.

Bellamy goes to move toward the flame, but Gaia summons up all her energy to pounce in front of him.

“Oh, no, no. Your father thought he could stop the curse by snuffing out the flame. I won’t let you do the same.”

“My father?” Bellamy gasps taken aback in surprise.

“Yes, the coward!” Costia throws back at him. “He brought your mother here on Halloween night sixteen years ago. It was too late to get help by the time they realized you were on your way into the world.”

“If my father died killing the black flame to stop you and your curse, then he died a hero, not a coward, witch!”

“Bellamy!” Clarke yells from outside. Roan had jumped over the fire and was running toward the house. Clarke chases after him, but he has no interest in her anymore. His eyes are fixed on the Reapers.

“Gaia! Yu ripa! Ai na frag yu op!” Roan bellows shaking the house as he runs up the stairs and his body squeezes through the door frame.

“Oh, dear,” Gaia says in surprise. She tries to force Roan to stop with her magic. The redirection of her magic freeing up Bellamy to move. 

Bellamy picks up the scissors laying by the spell book and slices a lock of his curls throwing it into the black pot. Bellamy hopes that adding his hair will mess up the Witches’’ potion.

“No, you have to destroy it all, Bellamy,” Lincoln says his voice muffled in the bag by Octavia’s feet.

Bellamy swings the hot cauldron over and its contents spill out onto the floor. The grey potion bubbles and gurgles before burning through the floorboards. Anya jumps back avoiding the hole and Bellamy races over to Octavia.

He unties her hands and feet. Hoisting her over his shoulder and holding tightly to Lincoln’s bag, he runs out of the house. He sets Octavia down on the ground gently and unties Lincoln. The fire burns brightly beside them warming up the ground around it. 

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” the cat says, his tail sticks straight up in the air and the hackles on his back are raised. “Go get Clarke! I’ll watch over your sister!” 

When Bellamy spins around to go back into the house, the trio of witches emerge followed by Roan of Azgeda who has Clarke tied up. He carries her effortlessly as she squirms to get away with her hands behind her back and her feet dangling in the air.

Costia, who is held up between Gaia and Anya tells Bellamy cheekily, “I put a spell on him and now he’s mine!”

She claps her hands weakly as Roan throws Clarke down to the frozen ground. The warrior is under the spell of his second former lover.

“I destroyed your potion! There’s nothing left for you to do, but burn!” Bellamy cries. He pulls Clarke away from the witches and over to Octavia and Lincoln.

Octavia has finally woken up from whatever sleep the Reapers’ had put her under. She helps Clarke break free of her bonds. The Reapers’ magic was continuing to weaken.

Bellamy looks over to the mountains. The tips of the sun’s beams were inching slowly over the mountaintops. When their light hit Arkadia the town would go back to normal and the Reaper Sisters would be gone.

“I saved one last drop just for your sister, little knight,” Anya holds up a small vial that holds the last of the newly formed curse. “One drop of this combined with the incantation for our curse and we can all be together forever.”

“Go to Hell!” Bellamy says.

“Oh, we’ve been there, thank you. It’s quite lovely.” Gaia quips back.

Bellamy looks down at Clarke and Octavia. He knows he can’t let either one of them drink the potion. A Reaper Sister and a Warrior Princess.

He takes off his backpack and sets it down on the ground. He touches the front pocket of his jeans feeling his BIC lighter and faces the witches.

“I’ll take your potion,” Bellamy states much to the protest of the others on the ground behind him.

Anya eyes him suspiciously her dark eyes glowing like embers under her hood reflecting the light of the fire.

“But who are you? My sister called you a knight without armor. Are you supposed to be a witch hunter with a bag of tricks? The curse won’t work if you aren’t dressed up!” Anya smacks her lips.

Cursed to be trapped as nothing more than a costume for the rest of his life. It’s all Bellamy’s ever wished for on his birthday. He hated not being able to protect his family from the horrors of Halloween. Bellamy realizes the Reaper Sisters won’t hand their potion over to someone like him. He wasn’t hunting witches or monsters. His bag was full of ordinary objects.

He was dressed as himself. Just Bellamy Blake. He wasn’t pretending to be someone else. He wasn’t pretending to be brave. He just was.

Bellamy gathers up all of his courage and pulls the sword off of Clarke’s back. It’s heavy. He swings it around knocking the vial out of Anya’s hand. A knight without armor. He isn’t strong enough to do any more damage to anyone. But he is faster than them all at this moment. He swipes the vial out of the air and pulls the stopper off.

It smells as rancid as it did in the cauldron and Bellamy plugs his nose before throwing the liquid back.

“The spell, Bell! You have to say the spell!” Octavia cries, but Bellamy doesn’t know what to say.

“Feva feikau. Forever trick. Omon gon oson. All of me for all of you,” Octavia recites over the shrieks and screams of the Reaper Sisters.

“Feva feikau. Omon gon oson,” Bellamy repeats. His voice echoes out into the forest and up into the mountains and down to the town, knocking everyone to the ground. The fire around them blows out.

 Bellamy is the only one left standing and he has to shield his eyes from the bright light. He thinks it’s from the curse, but when he opens his eyes he sees the sun meeting the sky. It’s sunrise!

The Reaper Sisters are too weak to get up from the ground, but they crawl toward their shack hoping to hide from the sunlight. Roan feels the warmth of the sun melting his frozen body as Costia’s magic is undone on him. He turns toward the mountain with outstretched arms. 

“We can’t let them get away,” Lincoln tells Bellamy and trots over to the Reapers’ house hissing loudly to keep the sisters away. They shrink back in terror and Bellamy and Clarke haul them up to their feet. 

“Any last words?” Clarke asks them. 

“Goodbye, cruel world. May we meet again,” Gaia says madly. She faces the sun and removes her hood letting it scorch her ugly face. Anya and Costia try to cower behind her but they, too, go up in flames. Their bodies burn and wraith until nothing is left but bone and ash. A pile at Bellamy’s feet that blows away with Hallows Eve night.

“You did it, Bellamy! You did it!” Octavia flings herself into his arms. He spins her around and they laugh carelessly.

“We did it, O.” Bellamy smiles broadly at her and puts his little sister back on the ground. He turns to look at Clarke.

Like with the sunset, the curse gradually reverses with the rising sun stripping away layer by layer. Clarke’s Warrior Princess begins to fade back into a costume. The heavy sword Bellamy held is now weightless in his hands. The purple makeup around her eyes is smudged, running down her face, and her braids are falling out.

Bellamy notices how she shivers in the morning cold and takes his soft, warm flannel off offering it to her.

“I feel like I got hit by a truck,” Clarke says hoarsely. She takes the flannel and wraps herself up in it.

“Do you remember what happened last night?” Bellamy asks cautiously not sure of the effects of the broken curse.

“Yeah, we just defeated a trio of witches and broke a three century long curse. Just a normal Halloween night here, right?” Clarke smiles at him and opens her arms reaching for an embrace. Bellamy gives her a hug and runs his hands up and down her arms trying to create some friction for warmth. His breath blows out like smoke as he sighs in relief. She remembered.

“Where’s he going?” Octavia asks. Bellamy looks up and watches as Roan of Azgeda walks toward the sun rising above Mount Weather. His body has defrosted and his form appears to shimmer like a ghost. He fades away before their eyes.

“He’s at peace now,” Lincoln’s voice says. Bellamy looks around for the black cat but he doesn’t see him.

A shimmer on the Reapers’ porch catches his eye. A young man stands there.

“Linc, is that you?” Bellamy calls. 

“Yes. The witches are dead. My soul’s finally free. Thank you.” Lincoln clasps his hands and nods in appreciation to Bellamy, Clarke, and Octavia. 

“Lincoln! Lincoln kom Trikru!” a voice calls in the distance.

“It’s Lexa,” Lincoln exclaims. Octavia begins to cry and walks toward him. She had grown attached to the cat.

“Don’t cry. I will always be with you.” Lincoln glides down from the porch and reaches out to Octavia. His hand shimmers beside her face and Octavia gives him a small, watery smile. He turns to face Lexa and the sun.

“Wait, the sun isn’t fully up yet, Lincoln. Octavia’s still a Reaper Witch! She could do a spell for you and your sister,” Bellamy throws up his hands to stop Lincoln from turning away. 

“No, I think I’ve lived long enough. Take care of each other.” Lincoln begins to walk towards the sun and slowly disappears.

They hear his sister’s voice calling for him, “Lincoln kom Trikru! What took you so long?”

“I had to wait three hundred years for a virgin to light a candle,” Lincoln looks back over his shoulder and winks at Bellamy. Bellamy just rolls his eyes and waves goodbye at him.

“Bell, I could try to bring your dad back! Let me go get the Reaper Sisters’ spell book!” Octavia runs toward the house but Bellamy throws out his arm to stop her.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea, O. There’s not enough time. And it could change too much,” Bellamy says and watches as the sun creeps halfway between the horizon and the sky. Octavia’s costume begins to turn back to how she had originally made it. The power of the Reaper Witch was leaving her body.

Bellamy thinks of how it would feel to know his father or for his mother to be okay again. But Lincoln’s words from earlier that night remind him how dangerous that spell book could be. No one should have that kind of power to bring back the dead. Bellamy takes the lighter out of his pocket and ignites it. He throws it down on the crumbling wood steps and watches it slowly began to engulf the house and the spell book.

“Besides, I’m just ready to go home,” Bellamy reaches out for Octavia and Clarke. He puts his arms around them both and they walk away from the Reaper Sisters’ house. Bellamy hopes it’s not too late for some good old birthday pancakes for breakfast and a long dreamless sleep.

“I think I’ll dress up with you next year, Octavia,” Bellamy teases. He tightens his arm around his little sister’s neck lovingly. She jumps away from him excitedly.

“Oh, can we, please? Next year let’s go trick-or-treating as Tinkerbell and Peter Pan.”

“Okay. Deal,” Bellamy laughs.

“With tights or it’s no deal.” Octavia points at him sternly.

“Okay, okay. Fine. Deal,” Bellamy concedes.

“Are you sure you want to dress up? Not afraid of any Halloween curses?” Clarke smiles sleepily at him and tickles his side. Bellamy pulls her in close and kisses her gently.

“Nah, that’s all just a bunch of hocus pocus.”

**Author's Note:**

> a penny for your thoughts?


End file.
